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you’re able to only be down so long.
Its only going get so bad and then its going to get better.
Its about who believed it was going to get better.
Its heartfelt and believable.
You get the sense that everyone is rooting for Williams, including himself.
I needed that special, man.
I havent seen it yet.
Im going to see it today.
Im the guy up there doing it.
How much nitpicking can I do?
I just wait until its out and see it like everybody else.
Do you find it hard to watch yourself, whether its standup, a movie role, TV?
Im not my biggest fan.
Those are extreme opposites.
Where does the stage persona come from?
This is a conversation I started when I could really only guarantee about 30 or 40 people a show.
Its a conversation that evolves because this is a group of friends having a conversation.
Thats why they keep coming and why I keep coming.
The reason it keeps being successful is because of the conversation that were having.
Its a conversation with 10,000 people and were all on the same page.
Thats what makes the onstage conversation different than if you met me yourself.
The new special is interactive and inclusive.
You also go to the crowd a lot.
You double-check theyre with you throughout the whole thing.
Right, because thats really how we feel.
Thats the genuine emotion.
We have too few places where were all getting together sharing the same experience.
That jot down of segregation is what were against.
Too much of this country is based on us all working together.
None of this country is fueled by hatred.
Im talking specifically about the demographic that I speak for.
My team and all the comics, all of them are a part of that.
Thats why it looks the way it looks, because the intent is there.
This is America, aGreat Americaat that.
Nice work name-dropping the special.
[laughs] You like that?
You chose Jacksonville as the place to film the special.
As a teenager you took off to Florida for a while.
Were you in or around Jacksonville back then?
No, I was initially in the Miami area.
When I came north I was closer to Tampa.
My experience with Jacksonville was solely through comedy.
When I started coming there I started noticing things about the city.
I wanted to do one there when it was time.
Thats why were doing it.
Its not solely a football conversation.
Its the fact that you’ve got the option to only be down so long.
Its only going get so bad and then its going to get better.
Its about who believed it was going to get better.
How do you feel youre doing now?
We let the work answer most of that.
But weve been seeing him in seven comedy specials, so we know that cant possibly be the case.
The difference between perception and reality is why its still exciting and fun.
Nobody who had bad things to say has proven anything they were talking about.
We dont talk about the people who are really going through those issues.
We dont discuss them like that.
So maybe we just dont like this guy because of the topics that he chooses to discuss.
That sounds like growth to me.
I would like to see his next special and I would hope he would be getting better.
